Thousands Aim to Land Job at Foxconn Despite Harsh Conditions

Consumer electronics manufacturer Foxconn is looking to double the size of its workforce in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou and scores of hopefuls are clamoring for a job, despite rampant reports of unsafe working conditions at the company's facilities.

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Consumer electronics manufacturer Foxconn is looking to double the size of its workforce in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou and scores of hopefuls are clamoring for a job, despite rampant reports of unsafe working conditions at the company's facilities.

Thousands of people lined up on Monday outside of a labor office in Zhengzhou, the largest city of Henan province in north-central China, for their chance to work at Foxconn, the Chinese Apple Web site Mic Gadget reported. Foxconn, which assembles the iPhone and iPad for Apple and does similar work for dozens of top tech companies, is looking to hire an additional 100,000 employees as it looks to increase its iPhone production.

The lines stretched 200 meters long as people waited for hours in the cold, applications in hand. Those who turned up likely saw job advertisements posted by the government noting that the salary at Foxconn?s factory starts at 1650 Yuan ($261) and could increase to anywhere from 2400 to 3200 Yuan (or $379 to $506) after an appraisal. (The report didn't note whether the salary figures were per week or for the month.) The company also provides food and dormitory housing.

But despite the demand for the open positions at Foxconn, the company has come under fire in recent years for its unsafe, military-like conditions that have driven workers to despair and suicide. Two recent reports in The New York Times shone the spotlight on deadly working conditions at Foxconn facilities in China and questioned whether Apple was ignoring such issues in favor of profits.

At least 14 workers in Foxconn plants in the Chinese cities of Shenzen and Chengdu have?committed suicide since early 2010. And this past May, a large explosion at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu where iPads were built killed three people and wounded more than a dozen.

In light of such revelations, consumer watchdog group SumOfUs has posted a new online petition calling for Apple to "overhaul the way its suppliers treat their workers" before the launch of the iPhone 5.

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
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